Chris has developed a totally unique approach which allows him to capture movement and light in new and surprising ways. Using mixed media within a liquid medium, he creates microscopic, moving fluid paintings which continually change and develop until the moment is right, at which point he captures them through the use of photography. In order to be able to control the liquid, he works on a very small scale. At the moment of capture, the pieces are barely visible to the naked eye, measuring less than half an inch, even for some of the largest pieces.

All the paintings are naturally occurring events that Chris creates in his studio using organic ingredients. Nothing is digitally enhanced and painstaking effort goes into ensuring the finished piece faithfully represents the colours that are visible at the time of capturing the painting. Organic particles are used to add a natural randomness to the flow and feel of the images and the pigments are chosen both for their look and for how they behave. The paintings only exist for a moment before they evolve into something different and the picture is gone forever.

Fluid Painting GalleryLimited Editions and One-offs

Fluid Painting Gallery

One Offs

Limited Editions

Creating the Fluid Paintings

The fluid painting gallery contains a selection of pieces, both limited edition and unique one-offs.The success of each fluid painting depends on many factors: the different media used and how they interact with each other, together with lighting, temperature control and air currents. Even simple dust particles play a part in the feel of some of the paintings.

Some fluid paintings may take 24 hours or more to develop while others might happen instantly; therefore Chris has to constantly monitor the events taking place. Sometimes nothing will happen for hours and then suddenly it will all come together. Patience plays a large part in the process, and as it is a naturally occurring event, Chris can't hurry the process or even slow it down if it is happening too fast.

Fluid Movie Gallery

Showreels

Showreels

Movie Clips

About Us

Having studied Engineering at Imperial College, London and then Design at the Royal College of Art, all of Chris's professional life has been concerned with film and photography. The fluid paintings that he creates are both inspired by, and draw on the movements and dynamics that he has discovered whilst filming some of the smallest organisms that inhabit the oceans. In turn the fluid paintings have attracted the attention of some of Hollywood’s biggest directors who have commissioned Chris to contribute to films such as ‘The Fountain’ and ‘The Tree of Life’. Through a combination of his feature film work and his Stereoscopic 3D photography, Chris has found himself supervising the 3D on a number of features, including Tom Cruise’s ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ and the film recognised as the best 3D film of all time, ‘Gravity’. Visit Vision3 for more on Chris’s 3D work.

Chris works with his father, Peter, and a small team of people who have been involved in many of the projects over the years. The fluids work has evolved out of Peter and Chris’s plankton filming and indeed, the biggest influence on Chris’s work comes from the natural world and his work as a natural history cameraman. Chris has spent much of his time filming some of this planet’s most alien looking creatures, particularly those from the oceans. It is the way these creatures move, and the play of light and sound in their world, that is a recurring theme in much of Chris’s work.

Peter is himself a renowned cinematographer having one the Gordon E. Sawyer Oscar for his work, including the development of some of the optics used by Chris.